Trap-nest



T. F. THOMPSON.

TRAP NEST.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.24. 1920.

1,354,523, Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TRAP-N EST.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1920.

Application filed January 24, 1920. Serial No. 353,890.

T 0 all to from it may concern:

Be it known that'I, THEODORE F. THOMP- soN, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Badger township, lVebster county, Iowa, have invented a new and useful TrapN est, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved construction for a trap-nest.

A further object of this invention is to provide improved means for assembling and collocating a plurality of trap nests and supporting the same in suitable location.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation showing the complete device mounted as required for practical use, one of the nest compartments being shown as closed, the others being open. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, the roof being removed. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the indicated line 3-3 of Fig. 1. v

In the construction of the device as shown the numeral 10 designates the rear wall, 11, 12 the parallel end walls, 13 the front wall, 14 a gabled roof carried by the walls, 15, 16 and 17 transverse partitions carried by the front and rear walls and extending to the roof 14, and 18 a floor covering the forward part of the bottom of the device, the rear part of said bottom being open, the several parts preferably being made of sheet metal and suitably connected to provide a rigid inclosure or house having several compartments arranged in a row, in this instance four in number. The front wall 13 is formed with doorways, one for each compartment, adapted to be closed by one pair each of folding doors 19, 20, which doors normally stand open as shown except when the same are closed by a fowl and are hinged on portions of the front wall in any suitable manner. The inclosure or house preferably is mounted on a wall 20 by screw 21 extending through the rear wall 10 and seated in a board or battern 22 mounted on or forminga part of said wall, in such manner that the bottom of the inclosure is spaced from the natural floor. A rod 23 is mounted horizontally beneath the roof 14 and extends through and is supported by the end walls 11, 12 and partitions 15, 16 and 17. A plurality of bell-cranks 24 are arranged in pairs, compartment, and are fulcrumed on the rod 23. The bell-cranks 24 are connected in the pairs by a plate 25, four in number, each plate being made of sheet metal and angular in cross-section. The bell-cranks normally are held, by a retractile coil spring 26 connecting each pair with the roof 14, in such position that one arm extends hori zontally toward the front wall 13 and the other arm extends vertically. Rods 2T, 28, also arranged in pairs, connect the vertical arms of the bell-cranks 24 pivotally to the doors 19, 20. Nest boxes 29, 30, 31 and 32 are arranged in the several compartments and extend through the open portions of the floor or bottom thereof between the rear wall 10 and the bottom or floor plate 18 loosely, said nest boxes being suspended in said positions by hangers 33, 34, also arranged in pairs, one pair for each compartment, which hangers are fixed at their lower ends to ends of the boxes and are pivoted on and removably and replaceably relative to studs 35, one of which studs is mounted on and projects horizontally and laterally from the forward end portion of each bellcrank. The nest boxes and hangers also preferably are made of sheet metal. The nest boxes normally are suspended in their uppermost position, as indicated by boxes 29, 30 and 31, and the doors are held open, by upward draft of the springs 26 relating thereto.

In practical use, a hen, or other fowl, about to lay, enters through an open doorway a selected compartment of the house, rests momentarily on the rigid floor 18, jumps or steps upon a rod 36 mounted hori Zontally and rigidly in the end walls and partitions adjacent to the upper forward edges of the boxes, and then steps into the box in said selected compartment. The weight of the hen added to that of the box entered, causes said box to descend, oscillates the bell-cranks supporting it against the pull of the spring 26 and causes said bell-cranks to operate through the rods 27, 28 and close the doors 19, 20 appertaining thereto. Thus the hen is protected from 1110- lestation during the operation of depositing her egg in the box. When the hen desires to leave the nest box, she mounts the rod 36 and the box, relieved of her weight, rises by reason of the pull of the spring 26 applicable thereto, the bell-cranks are reverscly one pair for each moved, and the doors are opened by outward movement of the rods 27, 28. Thereupon the hen may leave the compartment through the open doorway by which she entered.

Any suitable latch may be applied to the doors adapted for automatic engagement and manual release to provide for imprisonment of the hen pending inspection and identification.

I claim as my invention- 1. A multiple trap-nest device, comprising a compartment inclosure having doorways in one side and openings in its bottom,

there being doors hinged to said inclosure I and adapted to close said doorways at times,

a support extending longitudinally of and within said inclosure, bell-cranks iulcrumed on said-support and spring-held in one direction, operating connections between said bell-cranks and doors, nest-boxes within said compartments and adapted to pass through said openings in the bottom, and suspending connections between said nest-boxes and the bell-cranks.

2. A multiple trap-nest device, comprising an inclosure having compartments and doorways in one side and openings in its bottom communicating with said compartments, doors hinged to said side of the inclosure and adapted to close said doorways at times,

a support arranged in and longitudinally of the upper portion of said inclosure, bellcranks fulcrumed on said support, there being a pair or bell-cranks for each compartment, nest-boxes, one for each compartment, suspended from said bell-cranks and extending-through said openings in the bottom, operating connections between said bellcranks and the doors whereby the doors are moved between open and-closed positions coincident with movements' of the nest-boxes, and a rigid support extending across said compartments adjacent to the entrance side of the series of nest-boxes.

3. A trap-nest, comprising a compartment formed with a doorway in one side and an opening in its bottom, a support in the compartment, bell-cranks fulcrumed on said support, a nest-box suspended from said bell-cranks, a spring acting on said bellcranks in opposition to the weight of said nest-box, doors hinged to said compartment and adapted to close said doorway at times, rodsconnecting said bell-cranks and doors, and a support in said compartment adjacent to said nest-box.

Signed at Badger, in the county of Webster and State of Iowa, this 19th day of December, 1919.

THEODORE F. THOMPSON. 

